On June 28, the South Korean military used surveillance equipment to identify the failure process of the multi-warhead missile test, which North Korea claimed was successful. These failures included abnormal flight and a mid-air explosion from the missile’s ascent. This provides additional evidence supporting the military’s assessment that the multi-warhead missile test launch was indeed a dud.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on June 28, “North Korea launched a ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area around 5:30 AM on June 26 towards the East Sea, but we detected signs of an explosion during flight.”
They explained, “Our military detected signs of North Korea’s missile launch preparations in advance and was monitoring them. Our ballistic missile surveillance radar and ground surveillance assets detected the launched missile on the morning of June 26.”
They added, “The missile launched this time was identified as having an abnormal flight pattern from the ascent stage, and we believe this flight instability led to the missile’s explosion.”
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff also emphasized, “In the video shot by the thermal surveillance equipment operated by the forward units, the missile was seen rotating abnormally from the ascent stage and eventually exploding in mid-air.” They also refuted the experts’ judgment that “there must have been some success, even though it was a failure overall.” The Joint Chiefs of Staff have previously analyzed that a ballistic missile, propelled by a solid fuel propulsion system, flew about 155 miles from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea on the day of North Korea’s missile launch.
Contrary to the announcement by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea claimed through Rodong Sinmun and other media outlets that it had conducted a separation test of individual mobile combat units and a guidance control test. The announcement further claimed that they used the first-stage engine of a medium-long-range solid ballistic missile similar in shape to the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-17, with the test being successful.
The individual mobile combat units mentioned by North Korea refer to Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) in multi-warhead missiles. Multi-warhead missiles can attack multiple targets at once and are difficult to intercept, making it easier to penetrate enemy missile defenses.
In response to North Korea’s claim, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, “South Korea and the U.S. assessed North Korea’s claim as deception and exaggeration to cover up their failure.” They added, “As we anticipate that North Korea may attempt to re-launch the missile that failed this time, the South Korean military is closely monitoring subsequent developments.”
Head of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Public Affairs Office Lee Seong Joon also said in a regular briefing, “North Korea has released different content (related to the missile) from our announcement, but we believe this is merely a means of deception and exaggeration.” He added, “Even if you look at numerous videos and photos taken by civilians, you can see that the flight was abnormal.”
